Question 1

What type of battery is best for an electric scooter?

Accepted Answer

Electric scooters require significant amounts of power to operate. They are high powered devices to carry the load capacity of persons over long distances. Lithium-ion battery technology is better than lead-acid due to its power capacity, reliability, efficiency, battery lifespan, power output, size and weight. These are many of the critical factors that make lithium batteries the best choice.For electric scooters, lithium-ion batteries last 600% longer than similarly rated (amp-hour) lead-acid batteries and Lithium batteries output 200% more electrical energy per discharge cycle, take up 400% less space and are 10X lighter weight.

Question 2

Can I keep the battery charged 100% if being used regularly?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you are using your battery on a regular basis, you can keep your battery fully charged so it is ready to use. You can also charge it up mid discharge to cut down your charging time. For example, if you start with a 100% battery and use 30% of the battery, you can charge the battery back up from 70% to 100% so you can be prepared to use the battery later that day or whenever you want within the immediate future.

Question 3

Why is BMS important with lithium batteries?

Accepted Answer

A BMS (Battery Management System) is essential in a Lithium-Ion battery system. This device manages a real-time control of each battery cell, communicates with external devices, manages SOC calculation, measures temperature and voltage, etc. Controlling and monitoring the total voltage of every individual cell making up that pack is done by the BMS. In order to ensure your lithium battery pack is safe and lasts for a long time, you need a quality, reliable BMS. A quality battery management system analyzes hundreds of parameters every second to ensure the best performance and safety.

Question 4

Is BMS installed on all Triad Batteries?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It is included at no additional charge. All automotive grade or industrial lithium batteries require professional BMS to pass safety standards. Triad only uses the most advanced state of the art automotive grade lithium battery chemistry and BMS systems to comply with the highest U.S. and international industrial safety standards. Quality BMS is installed on all Triad batteries.

Question 5

Does NOT installing BMS on electric scooters make them vulnerable?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by not including BMS with the battery, it does make the device vulnerable. It may work without a BMS, but not safely. The BMS will prevent you from running the battery outside its safe limits and will manage charging and prevent electrical malfunction when batteries are neglected or allowed to over discharge. Battery Management Systems monitor the state of each cell in a battery pack ensuring that each cell is properly charged and that cell temperatures stay within safe parameters, among other things. Building a battery pack without a BMS is a risky proposition. Professional battery management systems are engineered to prevent thermal runaway which is the worst case scenario especially when batteries are neglected and users do not follow proper balance charging procedures.

Question 6

Do all kinds of batteries self discharge?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Self-discharge is an undeniable fact of all batteries, and it happens in every type of system (battery) that stores energy. However, the speed at which the self-discharge happens can range based on the way the battery is maintained by the user. If the battery is not charged, the battery performance will decline and the capacity of the battery is completely consumed. Batteries will lose their capacity to use their chemistry to hold energy, and lose their ability to produce electrical current. If you want to get the best results from a lithium battery, it is good to balance charge it at least once every four to six weeks and keep it within 60-80%. It will ensure that you can enjoy using your lithium battery for as long as possible.

Question 7

How do I prevent self discharge in batteries?

Accepted Answer

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this situation. Self discharge is unavoidable, but it is preventable. However it is only preventable by the user actively participating in monitoring and balance charging the battery for 20-30 minutes every 4-6 weeks. By reading the BMS app, and/or simply turning on the touchscreen to read the battery SOC (state of charge) at least one time every 4-6 weeks, you can prevent the battery at its optimal performance for operations. To prevent self-discharge during a long period of time when it is not used (dormant storage) the user must maintain the battery with a short balance charge at least once every 4-6 weeks to keep the battery at a healthy SOC (state of charge) between 60%-80%. For long term dormant storage, it is best to check the battery every 4-6 weeks in order to maintain the optimum balance charge on the battery of about 70% - 75%. Once the battery reaches the 70%-80% range, the user must unplug the charger and  remove the charger from the battery. Check and balance the battery by pressing one button to read the SOC at least once every 4-6 weeks to be sure the battery remains between 70%-80% so it is optimized in storage and ready to accept a full charge during regular operations.

Question 8

Why is BMS important with lithium batteries?

Accepted Answer

A BMS (Battery Management System) is essential in a Lithium-Ion battery system. This device manages a real-time control of each battery cell, communicates with external devices, manages SOC calculation, measures temperature and voltage, etc. Controlling and monitoring the total voltage of every individual cell making up that pack is done by the BMS. In order to ensure your lithium battery pack is safe and lasts for a long time, you need a quality, reliable BMS. A quality battery management system analyzes hundreds of parameters every second to ensure the best performance and safety.

Question 9

Shouldn’t you just NOT have BMS?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely not. They are there for user safety protections, and any Lithium battery that does not have a BMS should not be considered for use. BMS data and computation serve as the basis for determining if battery packs are properly charged, discharged and maintained for safe operational readiness. Data at the cell, battery and pack level must be cataloged and monitored to determine a safe level of use to prevent electrical malfunction at all times. All lithium batteries powerful and user safety cannot be understated. Anomalous behavior within the battery must be detected using BMS to prevent all electrical malfunctions including battery failure. The charge data needs to be compared over successive charge/discharge cycles to determine where anomalous cells might be and the BMS works to specifically identify over charging and over discharging to prevent electrical malfunction and battery failure for safety purposes. Having a lithium battery in high powered electrical devices like laptops, cellphones, cars, buses, VTOL airplanes, and electric scooters is by far the best choice, but doing so without a BMS system is willfully irresponsible.

Question 10

How do you read BMS data?

Accepted Answer

Quality BMS systems always include a Bluetooth transmitter for computer or mobile apps to interpret the real time data in the battery management system in order to be read by the user. This information is critical in order to understand the battery SoC (State of Charge) and SoH (State of Health). This readable data is part of the BMS system.

Question 11

Cell phones, laptops, tablets and smart watches all run lithium batteries. Do those have BMS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, since 2016 all laptops, tablets, smart phones and even smart watches use a smart battery packs. The rechargeable battery pack in all these mobile devices have a built-in battery management system (BMS) installed. It is absolutely necessary. It is further controlled by the actual computer hardware physically inside the device itself.

Question 12

If BMS so important, then why is BMS not on all electric scooters and electric bikes?

Accepted Answer

It is not installed on other products because the price per one battery cell immediately jumps 10 times higher. That's why professional BMSs are not installed on consumer grade electric bikes and scooters. Those products are designed to be built for consumers as inexpensively as possible in order to retail at the highest profit. Including and industrial automotive grade BMS system is cost prohibitive in order to meet industrial safety standards. Triad is the only electric scooter that meets the industrial standards for safety, which by default makes it the best and safest choice for consumers.

Question 13

Is BMS installed on all battery electric cars, buses, and VTOL aircraft?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It is a crucial component in all electric vehicles to ensure that batteries do not get overcharged or over discharged, thus avoiding damage to the battery and harm to occupants. The BMS is a computerized system that monitors and protects your EV battery pack from overcharging, over-discharging, and excessive current. It's an essential part of any electric vehicle, and without it, your battery pack would be vulnerable to damage.

Question 14

Have car manufacturers tried to create electric cars without BMS to save money?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and because of that fact, one of the big 3 US car manufacturers was forced to recall 140,000 vehicles. Every single electric car ever made prior to August 2021 because they tried to build an all-electric car with no BMS to save money. It cost them over $2 Billion to fix because they cut corners on battery safety. Even though they were using the same cell chemistry in their battery as all the other car manufacturers, by not having a BMS system installed to monitor, regulate and protect the battery, it created significant electrical malfunctions which led to billions of dollars of damages.

Question 15

What if I can’t use or download the BMS app?

Accepted Answer

Triad batteries can last up to 8 years with proper charging practices. That is extraordinary! To avoid obsolescence and to ensure access to BMS data without failure, Triad is the only company who has put a hardware touchscreen on the battery itself to read the BMS system without relying on 3rd party app developers. For example, if the app fails to work, or if user does not want to use an app, or if the app developer does not keep legacy code for newer operating systems over time, or if the user does not upgrade their OS on their mobile device, the failsafe hardware touchscreen Triad created and installed on the battery will always work in direct coordination with the automotive grade BMS installed inside the Triad battery. Just press the power button on the Smart Battery LCD Screen to access the BMS data pages and use the touchscreen to cycle through the 3 pages of data.

Question 16

Does the Triad BMS control battery charging?

Accepted Answer

Yes. There are 12 important functions that BMS controls. Charging and balancing each individual cell in the battery pack is one of the primary functions BMS protection provides.

Question 17

What causes lithium batteries not to charge?

Accepted Answer

The battery is not charging because the BMS safety control recognizes that the cells are in an over discharge state. The battery is in the state of deep discharge and it is so low that it is below the safety cut-off voltage. Over discharge that occurs within the first 3 years of owning your lithium battery is a result of failure to charge your battery. The BMS automatically activates the ODP or LVC for safety purposes as it would in any electric car, electric bus, or electric VTOL airplane using batteries for power.

Question 18

Does BMS prevent over-discharge?

Accepted Answer

BMS provides crucial data to the user in order to prevent and avoid the overcharging and over-discharging of the battery. BMS maintains the charging level between the maximum and minimum allowed charging and discharging capacity of the battery and balances all the battery cells in the battery pack for safety and peak performance. The BMS does not charge the battery, it monitors the user interaction with the battery. The user is still responsible to use the charger to charge the battery according to manufacturer requirements. The user is required to maintain the correct voltage of the battery whether in operations or in dormant storage to prevent over discharge. The BMS communicates battery SoC and SoH data to the user. The user is required to maintain the correct voltage of the battery in order to prevent over discharge.

Question 19

Is there a better way prevent over-discharge?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Triad was the first in the world who invented and created a touchscreen on the battery itself so all that needs to be done is to press one button to see the battery SOC so the user air condition can keep the battery within its optimal balanced state.

Question 20

What happens when the battery goes below 1.5V?

Accepted Answer

The BMS will display a specific error code that shows the user allowed the battery to self discharge below its operational capacity to hold energy. The BMS will activate the ODP (over discharge protection) and the battery will not accept a charge. The screen may require the use of the charger to be connected to the battery itself to use the charger itself to power the touch screen because the battery will not power the screen. The screen will read disconnect and 0 sum volts. The BMS app will not work because the battery does not have enough power to activate the transmitter. Please contact Triad with photos of your battery to make a preliminary diagnostic to see if we can restore your battery to full function.

Question 21

Can you restore function to a battery when ODP is activated?

Accepted Answer

It is possible to restore function under certain conditions if the emergency safety valves on the cells are not opened, or there is no sign of an external short circuit due to improper charger use.  This can only be determined by a skilled technician and the battery will need to be tested by Triad engineers to make a final determination. To avoid ODP and LVC, do not allow your lithium battery to remain uncharged for an extended period of time. Lithium batteries, like all batteries, will lose ability to hold a charge over time, eventually leading to the battery Over Discharge Protection to be activated to prevent electrical malfunctions. The BMS system will activate a safety disconnect override in order to prevent the battery from being charged when the internal BMS computer identifies that the battery has specifically lost its capacity to hold electrical energy due to over discharging. This is a key safety feature found only on professional automotive grade industrial BMS systems. When ODP and LVC is activated, over extended periods of time when the cells drop significantly below 1.5V the emergency safety valves open preventing the battery from being recharged. Even though in this case, the battery has to be replaced, it completely avoids accidental electrical malfunction due to improper charging practices and provides the highest level of safety within this extremely powerful battery. There are many e-scooter batteries out there without BMS. They may be less expensive, but they have a huge safety risk and using a lithium battery without a quality BMS is never recommended.

Question 22

What is BMS (ODP)?

Accepted Answer

BMS over-discharge protection (ODP) or BMS low voltage cutoff (LVC) is a critical safety feature that quality battery management systems have. This protection setting is only activated when the lithium battery is allowed to discharge below a certain voltage level, typically at 1.5V volts per cell.

Question 23

How long can a lithium battery last without charging?

Accepted Answer

Lithium batteries are strictly prohibited from discharging too much. Low voltage over-discharge will lead to the decomposition of the lithium ion and can not be restored. Lithium batteries must maintain a certain amount of electricity in the battery (40-70%) when in dormant storage. It is critical that users read the BMS SOC to be sure the battery is kept within operating voltage in order to prevent over discharge by failure to charge the battery. Unused electrical capacity drops by 3.5% per month due to self discharge.

Question 24

What happens if I am using the battery and it fully discharges in operations? Does that mean the battery cells are below 1.5V?

Accepted Answer

No. The BMS is engineered to cut battery power in use (full discharge of an operational battery) at 1.8V. Even if you fully discharge your battery in use, the battery is still active under normal operating conditions for continued recharging. You will be able to recharge it because the cell strings are above 1.5V and are able to accept the charge cycle.

Question 25

How does the battery get below 1.5V?

Accepted Answer

Cells fall below 1.5V when basic charging practices are not followed and allow the battery is allowed to self discharge below its ability to accept a charge.

Question 26

What do I do if I let my battery over discharge and now its not charging?

Accepted Answer

Triad batteries last between 3-8 years under normal operations with proper charging practices. The BMS system is there to protect the battery against over charging and over discharging. If the BMS screen does not power up, or the screen indicates the disconnect error code, that means the over discharge protection (ODP, LVC) has been automatically activated. However, Triad has developed a revolutionary solution: battery regeneration. If you are experiencing an error code where the battery is not charging, or the screen does not power on,  please complete the form on our Support page to contact Triad with photos of your battery and screen as soon as possible, so we can make a preliminary diagnostic and assist in providing a solution. If the emergency safety valves have not opened, it likely our skilled technician can safely restore the battery to full function.

Question 27

Can the battery be restored if ODP and LVC is activated?

Accepted Answer

Previously, if your Triad battery experienced over-discharge or low voltage cutoff (meaning it completely drained and you see an activated error code on the screen or the screen does not power on), the BMS might have disabled charging capabilities as a safety precaution. This previously in most cases resulted in complete battery replacement. However, Triad has developed a revolutionary solution: battery regeneration. If you are experiencing an error code where the battery is not charging, or the screen does not power on,  please complete the form on our Support page and contact Triad  with photos of your battery and screen as soon as possible, so we can make a preliminary diagnostic and assist in providing a solution. If the emergency safety valves have not opened, it likely our skilled technician can safely restore the battery to full function.  Learn more here: https://www.3wheelelectricscooter.com/post/battery-error-codes

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Answers to all important battery questions

Frequently asked questions

What type of battery is best for an electric scooter?

Can I keep the battery charged 100% if being used regularly?

Why is BMS important with lithium batteries?

Is BMS installed on all Triad Batteries?

Does NOT installing BMS on electric scooters make them vulnerable?

Do all kinds of batteries self discharge?

How do I prevent self discharge in batteries?

Why is BMS important with lithium batteries?

Shouldn’t you just NOT have BMS?

How do you read BMS data?

Cell phones, laptops, tablets and smart watches all run lithium batteries. Do those have BMS?

If BMS so important, then why is BMS not on all electric scooters and electric bikes?

Is BMS installed on all battery electric cars, buses, and VTOL aircraft?

Have car manufacturers tried to create electric cars without BMS to save money?

What if I can’t use or download the BMS app?

Does the Triad BMS control battery charging?

What causes lithium batteries not to charge?

Does BMS prevent over-discharge?

Is there a better way prevent over-discharge?

What happens when the battery goes below 1.5V?

Can you restore function to a battery when ODP is activated?

What is BMS (ODP)?

How long can a lithium battery last without charging?

What happens if I am using the battery and it fully discharges in operations? Does that mean the battery cells are below 1.5V?

How does the battery get below 1.5V?

What do I do if I let my battery over discharge and now its not charging?

Can the battery be restored if ODP and LVC is activated?

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